The Legend of Zelda: The Picori Blade
The Legend of Zelda: The Picori Blade is a direct prequel to The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap. It tells the story of the hero mentioned in the Minish Cap's introduction while expanding upon it heavily. It also retains many of the unique features in Minish Cap, such as shrinking down to Minish size or Kinstone fusion. Story The story begins at Link's house, where he is woken up by his childhood friend Princess Zelda. He escorts Zelda to the castle, but almost as soon as he gets back, he receives word that she has been kidnapped by Moblins. Link infiltrates the Moblin Fortress and meets with the evil sorceror Drakor, who wants the Light Force inside of Zelda. Although Link forces Drakor to flee, Zelda is left in a coma, and the king's advisor Alvis tells Link of an ancient prophecy. Long ago, the Picori race warned the humans of an evil force that would use the Light Force to take over Hyrule. However, a Hero of Men would arise, take up the Picori Blade, and defeat the evil force, saving Hyrule. Link received the Picori Blade and met the spirit inside it. The spirit, named Loren, told Link that the Minish race the humans called the Picori had forged the Picori Blade to defeat the evil force. However, it was not powerful enough, and Link had to collect the Four Elements and reforge it into the legendary Four Sword. Link travels all over the land of Hyrule to obtain all the Four Elements. First, he obtains the Earth Element from deep in the Minish Woods, forging the Picori Blade into the Light Sword. Next, he obtains the Fire Element from the peak of Death Mountain, forging the Light Sword into the Elemental Sword. Then, he obtains the Water Element from the bottom of Lake Hylia, forging the Elemental Sword into the White Sword. However, Loren does not know where the Wind Element is, so Link must first enter the Shadow Ruins to find out. In the Shadow Ruins, Link hears the voices of spirits, which tell him that the Wind Element is hidden in the Sky Realm. Link finds the way to the Sky Realm and at last collects the Wind Element, forging the White Sword into the legendary Four Sword. With the Four Sword, Link is able to break the dark barrier that protects Drakor's Palace and defeat Drakor. Drakor is sealed away in the Bound Chest, and Link finally awakens his old friend Princess Zelda and saves Hyrule. Gameplay Overall, The Picori Blade takes many elements from the Minish Cap. The controls are closer to A Link Between Worlds, as Link has two item slots, with the sword, shield, and Pegasus Boots begins locked to specific buttons. There are many returning elements from the Minish Cap, including the ability to shrink down to the size of a Minish, as well as a simplified Kinstone mechanic. Now, every color of Kinstone has a specific effect: Green Kinstones cause treasure chests to appear, Blue Kinstones cause the environment to change, Red Kinstones cause NPCs to appear or change somehow, and Gold Kinstones are exclusively fused with Mysterious Walls and cause Golden Monsters to appear. A new feature is the Minish Ocarina, which Link receives early on in Minish Village. The Minish Ocarina acts much like the musical instruments of previous games. However, the only song Link receives at first is the Song of Elements, which will open the door to a dungeon's Elemental Sanctuary after the boss is defeated. There are three other songs that the Minish Ocarina can play. The Melody of Winds allows Link to warp to uncovered Wind Crests. The Lyric of Revelation causes a change in the environment if played on a Light Pedestal. Finally, the game's only optional song, the Aria of Time, switches the time between day and night instantaneously. Dungeons * Moblin Fortress: The first and simplest dungeon. The dungeon is primarily themed around a fortress, with Moblins as the most common enemies. Other simple enemies, such as Octoroks and ChuChus, also appear. The dungeon item is the Bow, which can hit faraway Crystal Switches, and the boss is King Moblin. There is no direct reward for completing the dungeon, but it opens the way to the Picori Blade. * Forest Temple: The first Minish dungeon. The dungeon is a shrine for the Forest Minish, and is heavily overgrown by plants and foliage of all kinds. The enemies are basic Minish enemies, such as Mandibeetles and Stinglings. The dungeon item is the Gust Jar, which can suck away webs and blow propellers, and the boss is Big Red ChuChu. The quest reward is the Earth Element. * Eldin Caves: The first major human dungeon. The dungeon is quite craggy, and lava is a common hazard. Many of the enemies use fire, like Fire Keese and Red Spiked Beetles, or rocks, like Rock ChuChus. The dungeon item is the Aether Rod, which can create platforms above lava and deep water, and the boss is Lavalossus. The quest reward is the Fire Element. * Zora Shrine: The dungeon where difficulty starts to spike. Many of the puzzles involve water, such as transporting it between rooms. Many enemies are also aquatic, such as Blue Octoroks and Gyorg Sharks. The dungeon item is the Clawshot, which can grapple onto wooden poles and similar objects, and the boss is Turtlord. The quest reward is the Water Element. * Shadow Ruins: A very unique dungeon. The atmosphere is very dark and foreboding, with spooky foes like Ghinis and Gibdos. Puzzles are mostly based around sand, such as draining it to other rooms. The dungeon item is the Roc's Cape, which allows Link to jump over large gaps with ease, and the boss is Stalrok. There is no major quest reward besides opening the way to the Sky Realm. *